The College of Agriculture, Food and Rural Enterprise (CAFRE) in conjunction with Northern Ireland Water, are holding an online information session on soft rush control and water quality.
The event will be open for all farmers with an interest in the topics, but specifically aimed at landowners who farm in the northwest of Northern Ireland on Wednesday, February 26 at 7:30p.m.
This event is primarily aimed at those farming in the Faughan, Roe, Foyle, Derg and Owenkillew river catchments. An area stretching from Limavady, across to Londonderry and down to Gortin.
CAFRE biodiversity technologist Robert Beggs said that controlling rush is “an essential job” carried out on farms right across Northern Ireland.
“One of the most common means of control is to spray rushes with herbicides containing the chemical MCPA.
“An unfortunate side effect of this process is the negative impact MCPA can have on water quality which is costly to remedy when the water is extracted and treated before entering the drinking water system,” Beggs said.
The chemical is highly mobile in soil water, with traces being found in water up to six weeks after application, according to the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA).
The online event will give information on different methods of rush control and their effectiveness with a particular emphasis on the benefits of weed wiping with glyphosate versus boom spraying with MCPA. The results of recent field trials will also be discussed.
Northern Ireland Water staff will also give an insight into the water quality of the catchments, the treatment process at the drinking water extraction plant and the costs around removing MCPA from the water.
The event will be held online via the Microsoft Teams platform. Those wishing to attend can register by visiting the events section on the CAFRE website and a link to the event will be emailed directly.
